Thin Is In:New Minimalist Designs Hint at the Future of Consumer Tech

Tom Terranova takes a look at the battle between manufactureds to make thinner and thinner gadgets

For years, manufacturers have been in fierce competition to create the thinnest gadgets. From the slimmest TVs to the most svelte phones, every manufacturer wants to claim the coveted title of “World’s Thinnest” — even though they’ll eventually end up losing it to someone else at the next big electronics trade show. If nothing else, it’s a good way to keep the technologies moving forward. The best part is that a lot of this new gadgedtry eventually ends up trickling down to consumers. Here’s a quick look at some of today’s thinnest gadgets.

Casio Exilim EX-S880 Camera $220
It’s not Casio’s newest model, but it contains some of their best tech. It’s one of the thinnest cameras in its class and every thing about it shows quality and attention to detail. From the bright and huge 2.8″ screen to the 3x optical zoom and its rich feature set, this camera sacrifices nothing for the thin form factor. It accepts both SD and SDHC memory cards and comes in black or red.
exilim.casio.com

MoGo Mouse BT $60
This razor thin mouse was originally intended for laptop users, but you may not be able to resist using it on your desktop, just for the wow factor. This PC card-based mouse folds flat to slip into an open PC card slot, then pops up to create a more comfortable interface for your hand. The built in Bluetooth means there are no wires to interfere with your desktop aesthetic. It’s small, but extremely usable.
newtonperipherals.com

Intel Lorado Platform for Laptops Price TBD
Intel’s new concept machine was designed to show PC manufacturers a new vision for laptops. It features a super-slim 16mm shell, an e-ink external display, an optional leather attache, a bezel-free monitor, and all the technical bells and whistles you’d expect from such a futuristic design. The surprise? Apple’s new MacBook Air was designed in conjunction with Intel – so it looks like the future has just arrived sooner than expected!
intel.com

Samsung Upstage Phone $50 (with 2-year Sprint contract)
We’ve all become rather blase about mobile phones. They’ve gotten so small and they’ve been packed full of so many features that it takes a lot to wow most consumers. Apple’s iPhone did a lot for convergence and user-friendliness, but it’s not necessarily the pinnacle of what’s possible. Samsung continues to push the envelope with this innovative, double-sided phone that measures just .4 inches thin. One side features an iPod-like digital media player and the other side features a sophisticated mobile phone.
samsung.com

Apple Wireless Keyboard $79
Apple’s new keyboard continues the brand’s love affair with minimalist styling and architecture. At first glance it looks almost impossibly thin, and the wireless functionality makes it seem almost spooky. Luckily, the ergonomics are just as good as the design. It’s basically a MacBook laptop keyboard, with the same excellent tactile response and quiet keys. The wired model features a legacy numeric keypad.
apple.com/keyboard

Uni-Ball Signo .18mm Pen $25 (Set of 8 colors)
If you’re going to have all of the world’s thinnest gadgets in your pocket, you might as well have the world’s thinnest pen as well! The uni-ball signo features a .18mm nib that is small enough to write on a grain of rice. It’s perfect for those who like to scrawl tiny notes and the set from Jet Pens includes 8 different colors.
jetpens.com

Wallet Flash Memory 4GB $99
Walletex is marketing this credit card-sized Flash memory mostly as a corporate freebie that companies can slap a logo on and pass out at conventions, but they also sell some of the items at their website. These Flash memory cards come in a variety of capacities and will slide right into your wallet. A USB connector flips up for fast and easy connections. They also offer an MP3 player version.
walletex.com

Sony Reader Digital Book $299
The Yahoo Kindle E-Reader device has received a lot of hype, but it’s flawed by its lack of support for non-proprietary formats – only allowing you to read books that you buy from Yahoo. The technologically and stylistically superior Sony Reader will let you read just about any format you want, whether you bought it or downloaded it from the Internet. The Sony Reader accepts memory cards and uses E-ink technology for a beautiful, high-contrast, low-power display. Best of all, it’s compact, thin design fits into a back pocket.
sonystyle.com

Sony XEL-1 OLED HDTV $2500
Formerly only available in Japan, this early-adopter toy just made it’s way onto US shores. It’s the world’s first OLED television to be available to consumers and it boasts some amazing breakthroughs. It features a one-million-to-one contrast ratio and a screen that measures just .7 inches thin. At the moment, it’s only available in a 13″ size, which is why it’s basically just a luxury item for early adopters who want bragging rights. The good news is that it shouldn’t be long before we start to see models with larger displays and smaller price tags.
Wikipedia entry on XEL-1